Let Us Celebrate!

Good morning!

Today my message is entitled “Let Us Celebrate!”

We started this series of messages a few weeks ago with “Why do we celebrate?” We then looked at “Who do we celebrate?” Next was “How do we celebrate? Last week was “When do we celebrate?”

This look at celebration is to prepare us to arrive at Easter with an excited atmosphere of celebration, as we remember what Jesus Christ did, that weekend, in a message titled “Now, This is a celebration!”

Today is Palm Sunday and we are looking at the idea of “Let us celebrate!”

Now, remember two of the definitions of Celebrate that I provided from Webster’s New World Dictionary at the beginning of this series: “To honor or praise publicly”, “To mark a happy occasion with a pleasurable activity”.

This is what Palm Sunday was – a celebration! The time to publicly praise the Lord Jesus Christ as He arrives in Jerusalem. At that moment no one was concerned with what would happen to Jesus shortly. All they wanted to do was celebrate. Just like the poem that Kaye read today, this day was to shout our praise.

Matt 21: 1-4 NIV (Also in Mark 11: 1-10 & Luke 19: 28-38 & John 12: 12-18)

1 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples,
2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me.
3 If anyone says anything to you, tell them that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 references Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!
Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king comes to you,
righteous and having salvation,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, riding on a donkey. This is not fitting for a king but Jesus shows His peace and humility as He rides in. Can you imagine what the disciples must have been thinking. Remember that the crowd hasn’t started their cheering yet, no palm branches, no excitement so no way to know why they are to get the donkey.

6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.
7 They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them.
8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.

9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Hosanna in the highest!” [A Hebrew expression meaning “Save!” which became an exclamation of praise;]

10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

They are celebrating a celebrity! Many had heard of Jesus’s miracles, teaching and compassion. Some might even have connected the dots to realize that this was fulfilling the prophecies of the coming Messiah.

Are we ready for the next appearance of Jesus? Have we connected the dots of the prophecies? Are we in the “Palm Sunday” of our time on earth? Whether we are or not, “Let Us Celebrate” the Christ we know and love!
The book of Psalms is full of passages that talk of celebration and praise to our God. Here is one example that we can follow.

Psalm 118:24-29 NIV
24 This is the day the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25 O Lord, save us;
O Lord, grant us success.
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.
27 The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine upon us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I will give you thanks;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Sunday School class is doing the fruit of the spirit – this week I think they are doing “What it means to Belong to Jesus”.

Do you belong to Jesus? Is Jesus the main focus in your life or just another piece of entertainment or activity? Is it time for a revival?

In the “Christian History Magazine” a few years ago, there was an outline for the pattern for revival. The first element was :
“Awakenings are usually preceded by a time of spiritual depression, apathy and gross sin, in which a majority of nominal Christians are hardly different from the members of secular society, and the churches seem to be asleep.”

Our North American society is primed for a revival. God is looking at us and shaking His head. How can His family be so lost? Why do we insist on straying away from the world as God planned it?
Soon, God will start to wake us up.
Today is a good day to celebrate what God has done and will do with us.
“Let Us Celebrate” together and ask God to revive His passion in us.